On Guns and Liberty

Did you know that there has been a massive protest going on in New York city for over a week now? It's called "Occupy Wall Street" and it's an organic grass-roots movement of regular middle-class Americans who are angry at the decades of exploitation—both financial and political—by Wall Street elites. Until this week, it's hardly been covered by the national media at all. While the Tea Potty abominations have been getting 24/7 coverage of their sparsely attended crazy-rallies, real Americans who have dared to stand up to entrenched wealthy interests haven't received any coverage.

At least not until an NYPD commander walked up to a group of trapped women and maced them with absolutely no provocation whatsoever. Two days ago, Lawrence O'Donnell covered it in his excellent Rewrite segment on his 8PM MSNBC show:

There is an epidemic of police brutality and misconduct in America that has gone largely ignored by the national media. Until now.

Consider the title of this post for a moment, and then integrate that with the contents of the video and see if you can figure out where this is going. Stuck? Take a look at what all the protesters don't have.

Guns.

We all rolled our eyes in exasperation and made fun of the people who showed up to teabagger rallies with AR-15s strapped to their backs. But look at how nobody at those rallies got maced, tackled, beaten, or falsely arrested. It's not because those rallies were more orderly or lawful—it's because the people in attendance were ready and able to defend themselves from police oppression. We may not agree with everything (or even anything) that is said at those tea potty-paloozas, but they have a right to hold those rallies and speak their mind.

As do we. But even though we have more people and represent a broader segment of America, we've failed to attract media attention, and we continue to be squashed by police. We've failed to heed the number one rule of national news: "If it bleeds, it leads."

Nobody got shot at the tea potty protests, despite all the guns. And we don't need to start shooting at the drop of a hat, either. But we need to realize that unless we take steps to secure ourselves against oppression, we will continue to be swept under the rug and ignored. The ultra-strict gun laws in NYC that make it almost impossible for regular citizens to own firearms compounds the problem, because it's now a crime for citizens to even attempt to protect themselves from having their skulls smashed in, or having twenty-five thousand volts zap across their hearts, or having the spice of a million jalapeños squirted into their eyes.

The plague of militarization and confrontation that has become endemic to police forces both small and large on a national level is something that can be causally addressed with additional oversight at a federal level. But that kind of reform takes time, and people are being hurt at the hands of the police right now. Their right to assemble, their right to speak, and their right to freedom of the press is being revoked by organized, roving gangs of thugs with badges and a uniform.

The second amendment to the United States Constitution is designed to protect us against exactly that. We don't have to start shooting cops or Wall Street barons in order to get our message across. We just have to show the opposition that if they dare to push, we will shove in kind. When we exercise our right to bear arms, we make a statement that we cannot be shushed just because the ultra-rich find our populism unsettling.

Their money does not make their voice more valid than ours, but they have effectively bought American politics. The tea potty ideology represents only a teeny tiny minority of Americans, but they've successfully hijacked the entire United States House of Representatives. They're cutting Medicare and Social Security in order to fund tax subsidies for oil companies. Billionaires pay a lower tax rate than their secretaries and regressive Republicans are threatening to cause our government to shut down and our debt to default if we even think about closing tax code loopholes.

That is unfair on its face and is directly contrary to the ideals we hold most dear as Americans. That's what this occupation of Wall Street is all about. It's about a people who have been ignored and oppressed long enough. It's about justice and fairness for all Americans. It's about jobs and economic security for the middle class. It's about opportunity and progress for the disadvantaged. It's about freedom. It's about liberty.

That's the message the media has been ignoring because they can. Because these protesters have shown up defenseless, the police can quickly beat them up and throw them in jail where video cameras can't find them. The public will continue to see nothing and hear nothing as long as we continue to do nothing. It's time for that to change.

Occupiers of Wall Street, my friends, fellow Americans: stand firm for what you believe. Don't use force to bully others, but don't be afraid to use it to stand up for yourself when you are being bullied. New York City has made it tremendously illegal to have firearms for just about any reason, and has a police force with more military might than many small nations.

We can't let that might shut us down. We can't let them taze and mace and beat us into compliance. Our might comes from our constitution. Our right to free speech, to free assembly, to free press — and to bear arms. Don't be the one protester who shows up to the Wall Street Occupation armed. Be the one protester who ensures that every other protester has the means to defend themselves. Every single person on the streets of New York should send a message to Wall Street loud and clear: we will be heard, and you cannot silence us!

If we speak and act in unison, if we all exercise all of our rights, and we all do what is necessary to protect them, we will become an unstoppable movement. It's become customary to expect that Republicans will show up to their rallies armed, but we need to remind them that rights are for everyone, and we can do that too. It will not be easy. Progress never is. But it will be the right thing to do. And that's what's most important.

The Parnell campaign is committed to a bold progressive agenda for Florida's 15th District, bringing jobs, liberty, and equality to all Space Coast citizens with a focus on reform, modernization, and efficiency. Become part of the Parnell campaign today, and help usher in a bright new future for both our state and our country.